October 30 & 31
The Brown Theatre
Humanity, Horror and High Drama: Louisville Ballet Brings Frankenstein to Life This October
This fall, Louisville Ballet takes one of literature’s most haunting and misunderstood stories and transforms it into a sweeping theatrical ballet experience. On October 30 and 31 at The Brown Theatre, Artistic Director Anthony Krutzkamp unveils Frankenstein powered by LG&E and KU, a new full-length adaptation inspired by Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking novel — a production that promises gothic atmosphere, emotional complexity, cinematic visuals, and a surprisingly human heart.
For audiences expecting a simple Halloween spectacle, Krutzkamp says they may be surprised by how deeply emotional the story becomes once translated into movement.
“People know the iconography of Frankenstein,” he explains. “But what really struck us was the humanity in the original novel — the abandonment, isolation, longing, and responsibility. That’s what we wanted to bring to the stage.”
The idea first emerged while Krutzkamp was revisiting Louisville Ballet’s acclaimed production of Dracula at the Brown Theatre. Looking at the existing set possibilities and theatrical structure, he realized the company had the opportunity to create something equally immersive but emotionally distinct. From there, the concept quickly evolved into a large-scale original ballet production.
Rather than simply retelling the familiar monster movie version of the story, this adaptation leans heavily into Shelley’s original Romantic-era novel — a work far more psychological and tragic than many audiences realize. The Creature is not merely a villain. He is abandoned, isolated, and painfully aware of his own loneliness. Victor Frankenstein’s ambition, meanwhile, slowly unravels into guilt and destruction.
That emotional tension became the creative foundation for the production.
More Than a Monster Story
Krutzkamp describes the ballet as a fusion of traditional theatrical storytelling and contemporary stagecraft. Projections, layered scenery, dramatic lighting, and cinematic pacing will allow the production to move fluidly through multiple locations — from laboratories and courtrooms to snowy landscapes and distant European settings.
“We had to figure out how to travel through the story quickly,” Krutzkamp says. “Sometimes you’re in Germany, sometimes the Arctic, sometimes Austria. Using projections on the scrim and the set itself allows us to move cinematically while keeping the focus on the dancers and the emotional storytelling.”
The visual world itself sounds ambitious. Courtroom scenes will feature angled pews rising from the stage so audiences can witness reactions from the onstage spectators as well as the principal characters. Costumes, designed in-house by Louisville Ballet wardrobe manager and costume director, Molly Duke — working closely with Krutzkamp — will help communicate mood and character in a medium without spoken dialogue.
“There are no words,” Krutzkamp says. “So everything matters — movement, lighting, costume design, the silhouette of a character. We wanted every visual element to reinforce the emotional atmosphere.”
And atmosphere may ultimately be one of the production’s greatest strengths.
Setting the Scene
October feels like the perfect setting for a ballet steeped in gothic tension, shadowy imagery, and supernatural themes, but Krutzkamp insists Frankenstein is much more than seasonal entertainment.
“Yes, it’s scary,” he says with a laugh. “But it also has a voice. What happens to the Creature in the book is absolutely awful. He’s abandoned from the beginning. We wanted to balance the Halloween energy with a deeper emotional message.”
That emotional undercurrent is carried just as powerfully through the music.
A Score Built for the Story
Justin Gray, Louisville Ballet’s Music Manager, worked alongside Krutzkamp to shape the score and overall sonic experience. Rather than commissioning a traditional ballet composition, the production uses curated recordings from acclaimed contemporary composer John Adams — one of the most influential living figures in modern orchestral music.
Gray says the decision was intentional from the beginning.
“Anthony told me he wanted to do Frankenstein, and immediately I read the book,” Gray says. “One thing that really stood out to me is how different the original novel feels compared to the classic Hollywood version. The Creature has such a human soul. We really wanted audiences to feel that.”
Instead of relying on sweeping romantic melodies associated with traditional ballet scores, the production embraces Adams’ modern orchestral textures — music filled with repetition, tension, propulsion, and emotional urgency.
“It’s very driving music,” Gray explains. “There’s momentum constantly pushing forward, and emotionally it mirrors Victor and the Creature’s journeys incredibly well.”
Gray describes the process less as composing and more as curating. He immersed himself in Adams’ extensive catalog, listening for pieces and passages that aligned with key moments in the narrative.
“I’ve thought about it like curating a gallery,” he says. “You’re building an emotional environment around a story. Every excerpt had to serve the dramatic arc.”
One scene in particular already has the artistic team buzzing: the laboratory sequence where Victor Frankenstein assembles and ultimately brings the Creature to life.
For that moment, Gray selected Adams’ Fearful Symmetries, a pulsating orchestral work known for its relentless build and explosive climax.
“It’s essentially 30 minutes of mounting tension,” Gray says. “When it finally peaks — when the Creature comes alive — it’s going to be incredibly powerful.”
The collaboration between choreography and music has also become one of the production’s defining creative relationships. While classical ballet often features music written specifically around movement, contemporary works frequently reverse that process. In Frankenstein, the choreography grows organically from the score itself.
“The music inspires the movement,” Gray says. “Anthony responds emotionally to what he hears, and that becomes the choreography.”
That freedom has energized the entire artistic team.
Krutzkamp compares the collaboration process to legendary partnerships between choreographers and composers throughout ballet history. “It was honestly one of the most exciting creative experiences I’ve had,” he says. “Justin understands the emotional architecture of the story so deeply.”
For Louisville Ballet, the production also arrives during an especially important season. The company celebrates its 75th anniversary this year with a lineup that balances beloved classics and ambitious contemporary works, including The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, Carmen, and Momentum. But Frankenstein may be the season’s boldest artistic statement — a production that embraces theatrical innovation while remaining grounded in deeply human themes.
And perhaps that’s why this adaptation feels particularly timely.
A Story for Our Time
At its core, Mary Shelley’s story has always been less about monsters and more about loneliness, rejection, ambition, and accountability. Those themes remain startlingly modern more than 200 years after the novel was first published.
Through dance, music, projection, and visual storytelling, Louisville Ballet aims to make audiences feel those ideas in a visceral way.
The result promises to be part gothic thriller, part emotional tragedy, and part immersive theatrical spectacle — all unfolding inside one of Louisville’s most beautiful historic theaters during the heart of Halloween season.
For longtime ballet patrons, theater lovers, literary fans, and even audiences who may not typically attend dance performances, Frankenstein sounds poised to offer something unexpectedly accessible: a familiar story reimagined with intelligence, emotion, and breathtaking theatrical scale.
Louisville Ballet’s Frankenstein powered by LG&E and KU runs October 30 and 31 at The Brown Theatre. Tickets and season information are available at LouisvilleBallet.org.
